San Antonio comes into Sleep Train Arena on an uncharacteristic four-game losing streak. It's been several years since they've had a losing streak of five or more, while Sacramento hasn't won back to back games since November. Today's action tips off at 7:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.
3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. The Kings are hurting for depth. Darren Collison is likely out for the remainder of the season so we'll continue to see a lot of Ray McCallum and Andre Miller. McCallum played very well against Mike Conley on Wednesday, and he'll have another tough test tonight against Tony Parker. Also, this is looking like it will be George Karl's first game without DeMarcus Cousins (who is dealing with an ankle sprain), so it will be interesting to see how he deals with the lack of an interior presence.
2. The Spurs are coming off one of the better championship runs in NBA history, which makes this years drop-off a little surprising. Their offense has taken a major slide, from 7th overall last season to just 14th this year, while their defense has dropped from 3rd to 6th. They're still a great team, but they no longer look invincible.
3. One of the biggest surprises so far in George Karl's short reign has been the rejuvenation of Sacramento's bench. Karl has kept the rotation rather short, but he's getting the most out of guys like Andre Miller, Omri Casspi and Derrick Williams. In both of Sacramento's wins under Karl, the bench has been a huge factor.
MATCHUP OF THE GAME
Tony Parker vs. Ray McCallum
Parker's the head of the snake in San Antonio and he's been pretty bad during San Antonio's losing streak. Over the past four games he's averaging just 7.5 points on an abysmal 28.9% from the field. For Sacramento to have a chance, they're going to have to keep Parker cold, and much of that burden will fall on Ray Mac's shoulders.
PREGAME LIMERICK
There's nobody quite like Coach Pop,
whose glares make the bravest man stop.
But Karl is here,
and he has no fear,
time to give the Spurs standings a drop.
PREDICTION
Kings 104, Spurs 83 after the chair DeMarcus Cousins kicked finally steps up its game and contributes 24 points, 12 rebounds and great lumbar support.